Florida SC.5.P.10.3
The Standard
Investigate and explain that an electrically-charged object can attract an uncharged object and can either attract or repel another charged object without any contact between the objects.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students test how static charge affects balloons, paper bits, or other light objects from a short distance. They explain attraction and repulsion using the objects’ charges.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students predict that like charges repel and opposite charges attract. They also explain that a charged object can pull a neutral object because charges inside the neutral object shift.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think neutral objects contain no charges. They may assume all charged objects attract each other, or that an electric force requires touching. Some think rubbing creates charge rather than transferring electrons.
How to Assess It
- Charge two balloons, then hold them near each other and near paper bits. Ask students to draw force arrows and explain each result in two sentences.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Rub two balloons with wool, suspend them from strings, and observe their motion near each other and near small paper pieces.
Ask students to explain why a charged balloon can pull neutral paper without touching it.
Use prediction cards to sort object pairs into attract, repel, or no clear effect, then test each pair.
Press a charged balloon near a wall and connect its temporary sticking to static cling in clothes from a dryer.
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Printable SC.5.P.10.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SC.5.P.10.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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